How the Canadian behind the Glambot became a ‘talent whisperer’ for celebrity red carpets | Canada Voices

Cole Walliser didn’t move to Los Angeles with the intent of becoming a presence on red carpets. But today, the charismatic 43-year-old’s signature laid-back energy and voluminous curls stand out even among the glitterati.

You’ve likely seen Walliser’s work, even if you didn’t realize it. Since 2016, he’s been helming the Glambot, a high-speed robotic camera that captures slow-motion portraits of celebrities, from Cynthia Erivo to Demi Moore to Ice Spice, at major awards shows such as the Oscars and the Grammys. At the same time, Walliser engages A-listers in candid moments as they decide how to co-create the most iconic shots.

Originally from Richmond, B.C., Walliser came to L.A. in 2004 with a psychology degree from the University of British Columbia and a love of videography cultivated while filming his friends doing kickflips at the skate park.

It was his keen attention to detail in motion that made him the ideal director of the Glambot.

The execs at E! Entertainment “were looking for someone who had directed beauty stuff, done a bunch of movement and choreography, and worked with A-listers,” says Walliser of getting the gig. After early-career experience directing beauty campaigns and music videos for artists such as P!nk and Miley Cyrus, “I checked all those boxes,” he says.

His role, technically, is director. But in practice, Walliser is part cinematographer, part movement coach, part talent whisperer. “The big challenge is trying to get talent to do a cool, interesting move,” he says.

Once Walliser calls out to his operator, the camera rapidly flies forward, capturing its subject’s twirling or hair-tossing in a dazzling 1,000 frames per second at 4K resolution. The cost to operate the Glambot at a single event is upward of US$500,000. It’s a serious piece of equipment, requiring a team of 13 to run, including video editors and social-media managers.

Most Glambot clips are filmed in one superquick take. To nail it, Walliser is watching closely – trying to read what kind of direction a celebrity needs; how they are preparing to move, whether they seem nervous about the giant robot arm about to fly toward their face. He says his psychology background helps. “I use that every day in the approach I have to creating.”

What sets the Glambot apart from other red-carpet photography, he believes, isn’t just the spectacle of hi-def slow motion – it’s the raw, behind-the-scenes moment that happens between him and the celebrity before the shoot begins.

“You really get a candid, creative conversation which you essentially get nowhere else in entertainment,” he says of these interactions, which are captured and uploaded to social media in near-real time during awards shows.

“Even in behind-the-scenes footage for movies and TV shows, you never actually hear a director and actor talk about a shot. With Glambot, that moment is front and centre.”

It’s that mix of real-time collaboration and cinematic payoff that keeps the public fascinated. “A lot of people who watch these envision what they would do if they had the chance to do a Glambot,” he says. “And to see others confidently – or self-consciously – go through it makes it feel relatable.”

Walliser’s top Glambot moments include viral clips with Ariana Grande (“arguably the best ever Glambot shot,” he says of the singer’s 2020 Oscars capture in a tiered Giambattista Valli gown), Brad Pitt, Billie Eilish and even Weird Al.

He’s now a kind of avatar for the experience, someone who has been doing it long enough that emerging actors see walking up to him as a rite of passage. “There are people who’ve been watching for years, dreaming of doing one, and then they book a TV show and show up at the Emmys,” he says. “That’s just the coolest thing ever.”

Representation matters to him, too. Walliser, who is half Chinese, says, “I feel a sense of pride when I see Asians get opportunities to portray roles that are no longer stereotypical. If they find success and end up on the Glambot, it’s so fun to shoot.”

Walliser, a freelancer, is also busy with work beyond the Glambot. He’s shot Super Bowl commercials, hosted a photography show on Hulu and hopes to direct his own narrative feature films. On weekends, he races cars, surfs and cares for his pet fish in a coral reef tank at home.

He has no plans to stop vibing on the red carpet. “I’ll continue doing it so long as E! will have me,” he says. “It’s been so much fun, and my career has grown tremendously.”

And if he could Glambot anyone in history? “Michael Jackson,” he says. “You couldn’t get any better than that.”

Cole Walliser’s top tips for nailing a Glambot-worthy pose

“The pose at which you feel most natural is more likely the pose at which you’re going to look your best,” says Walliser. “Find a position that feels comfortable in your body and that you feel confident in. … That’s really going to resonate the most.”

If you’re working with video, try what Walliser calls a movement pose:

“You just sort of alternate, you twist, you turn in and out of that position, and then when someone says ‘three, two, one, action,’ you go into it.”

“I wouldn’t be ashamed about practising,” says Walliser. “The people on the red carpet, they’re so good because literally their job is to pose. … Set your phone up, hit a couple of poses, watch it, see what’s good.”

And most importantly, don’t psych yourself out.

“If you’re like, ‘Oh no, I can’t pose, I’m so awkward’ – you’re guaranteed going to be awkward. Let that go. Just relax and feel comfortable and natural,” he says.

How to DIY your own Glambot

Making a lower-tech DIY Glambot is totally possible. “The new iPhones shoot at 240 frames a second, which is pretty slow-mo,” says Walliser.

Ask a friend with a steady hand to film while moving toward you and zooming in as you move into your chosen pose. For inspiration, Walliser recommends checking out the tutorial he made with creator Haley Kalil (a.k.a. Haley Baylee).

“People do home Glambots for their proms, for their events. I get tagged in them all the time, and it’s really awesome to see.”